Conflict
by ALeoWonderer
Summary: Chocolat had no idea that her decision would lead the world up to this. She blames Waffle and her housekeeper for the Love-Love-Essence cookies but perhaps accepting Pierre's offer of being queen is not a bad idea after all? Now that it has come to this, it would be up to her to continue her path into becoming a queen.
1. Chapter 1

_How did it turned out this way?_

No matters even if someone asks her, as she will not reply.

After all, how did the world changes after a single choice made by her?

* * *

Her hand held across her chest as she clutched her heart that thumped and glowed pink at the sight of Pierre in front of her. It wasn't her fault that her heart ended up out glowing pink, as though she is prepared to surrender her heart anytime. She silently cursed Waffle and her housekeeper for feeding her the love-love-essence cookies, when Pierre suddenly one-knee kneel in front of her, clutching her hand with his. His other hand folded across his chest.

"Could you please become our queen?"

"That way, we won't have a quarrel," he continued, which left her wondering about what he meant.

She didn't know what comes across her when she casts her spell. Petals of flower fluttered across the air while she was so deep in her thoughts of what he just spoke of, hardly noticing the arrival of her friends until she swallowed a cookie down her throat.

Quickly snapping out, she rushed into asking him before he leaves. "Wait! What do you mean that if I become the Ogre's queen, there will be no quarrels?"

He stared at her intently, without uttering a word. Saule and Haux were shouting in the background, but she paid no attention to them.

"Chocolat, someday you will know what I mean. See you," Not giving her a chance to ask him another question, he flew away, leaving her alone with her friends.

They flew back to their rooftop house. The others were reprimanding Waffle, while she was lost in her thoughts once again, about her feelings and Pierre's words to her. She lazily mumbled goodnight to the others before heading off to her room and sleep.

At least, that was what she was planning to do.

Instead, she couldn't sleep. Tossing around her bed several times didn't help in getting her to sleep. The words Pierre said echoed in her mind the whole time, causing her to dwell on his incoherent words.

 _Become our queen...Won't have a quarrel …_

She slammed her covers open, finally making a decision to meet him. She changed to a comfortable attire before grabbing her broom and flew out, directions to Pierre's mansion. The doors to his mansion opened easily, as though welcoming her in, but she ignored a foreboding warning and continues her way in.

Chocolat wondered her way in the mansion. First by climbing the stairs greeting the main doors. As she was about to do that, silhouettes attacked her that she identified as ogres. Before they launch another attack, she was about to cast her wand on them but was stopped when a purple cat appeared and stand between them. The ogres left almost immediately and she was left standing with a cat.

The cat started walking, pausing when it noticed that she wasn't following. She joined her soon after before they walked up the flight of stairs and to the maze of hallways. They soon reached a pair of luxurious mahogany doors. She turned back to the cat to thank it but found that it disappears, leaving her alone in the quiet hallways. She was about to knock when she heard a snap of finger from the inside of the room.

"Chocolat, welcome to my mansion," Pierre greeted, from his seat. His servant standing next to him.

She clenched her fists tightly by her side, silently hoping that she wouldn't regret her decision of meeting him. "Pierre, what do you mean earlier?" she paused briefly before continuing, "About being your queen?"

He smiled, "I will explain. But first," another snap of fingers caused a seat to appear out of thin air, "make yourself at home. It would be impolite to treat a guest without courtesy."

Chocolat sat on her seat before Pierre started to talk, "It's quite simple actually. Become the Ogre's queen." His expression turned serious, "That way, no war will be cast. I believe that you understand what this means?"

She nodded, _Queen Candy mentioned that mama and her want peace between the two sides that has been in war for so long but… what does becoming a queen has to do with it?_

"But becoming a queen myself won't stop the war, no matter how much I want it to happen," she admitted.

"No, you are wrong," that confused her, "By becoming a queen, you will be able to unite both sides by preventing war as becoming a queen gives you the authority to control the witches and wizards from both sides."

Pierre continued, "Becoming queen means preventing war. Preventing the death of your friends and family members that you cherish so much." He leaned back with a sly smirk, "And you can also be my queen, just as you always wanted. Don't deny, the colour of your heart says it all."

Her face flushed bright red, looking anywhere but at him. _Ignore your feelings for now and focus on your main objectives. Now, becoming a queen…. I always want to be a queen to prove to mama who lost to Queen Candy… But now-these issues and all-, what should I do?_

" _I wish for it to end. Le Royaume and the Ogres were originally one people. I believe that one day things will be settled_ ,"

" _Chocolat-chan, we're really worried about you, so please promise to not go too far, okay?"_

… _Queen Candy_ ….. _Vanilla_ …... _Houx_ … _Woo_ ….. _Robin_ ….

Her clenched fists released and she looked up at Pierre with determined eyes. "Pierre, what should I do to be queen?"

* * *

Vanilla woke up in the middle of having a nightmare. She didn't know why, but a bad feeling kept bugging her. She knocked on Chocolat's door, planning to sleep with her for the rest of the night. Silence was the answer and she was ready to apologise for barging into her room, but was greeted with an empty, messy room with no sight of Chocolat.

She immediately notified Houx, Saule and Robin about the missing Chocolat. All then began their search. _Chocolat, please be safe!_ Vanilla thought.

* * *

Pierre led Chocolat to another room, where a black noir heart is placed at the centre, surrounded by black petals all over the ground. Pierre extended his hand to her, gesturing her to come closer.

"Noir, the heart of hatred and jealousy. To be a queen of both, you will need to have a noir in you and to abandon any emotions you have in you," he said.

Chocolat became vigilant all of a sudden, dread washed over her. She quickly reassured herself that everything will be fine, whilst Pierre was getting ready to place the noir in her.

Pierre slowly placed the noir in her, but the repulsion between her heart and the noir made it an impossible task. "Chocolat, are you really prepared to do this?" This caused her to remember her true purpose, and she allowed access to the noir.

The moment the noir enters her, she felt enormous pain. Pain that she never felt before and not willing to experience again. Pain shot up her body and she could feel flames all over her, before she fainted and landed on Pierre's arms.

At that moment, Pierre's servant came. "Pierre-sama, you have unwanted guests."

"Get ready to greet them."

* * *

After finding nearly everywhere for Chocolat, they were about to call it a day when they sensed the growing power of Noir in Pierre's mansion. They then headed to the mansion. A light push by Vanilla opened the double doors, leading everyone inside.

Petals scattered around the floor guide them the way. They walked up the stairs and enters a room. In there laid Chocolat lying on the bed, head placed on Pierre's lap as she seemingly sleeps. Through the peek-a-boo glass, they noticed the noir heart in Chocolat.

"Noir! Pierre, what have you done?" Vanilla screamed to him.

He gently placed her head on the pillow before standing. "I placed a noir in her. Now, she is reborn as the Ogre Queen."

"Why do you do that? Is it because Chocolat likes you?"

He shook his head, "It is not a decision made by me alone. It is also hers." That statement shocked them.

Houx and Saule both shouted at him simultaneously, "Impossible!"

"Oh? But it is possible. Why else did she came and find me now of all times?" That shuts them up.

Vanilla got closer to the pair. "Chocolat-chan! Wake up! Let's go home and I will make tea for us like usual. Come on, Chocolat-chan," By now, tears were cascading down her cheek. "CHOCOLAT-CHAN! LET'S GO HOME!"

"That's enough!" yelled Pierre, "I let you in to meet Chocolat, and not to make a ruckus." With a swipe of his arm, everyone was blown away by a gust of wind out of the mansion. They were fortunate that Robin was there to soften their blow.

Needless to say, Vanilla cried so much that she didn't stop until she fell asleep.

* * *

Back at the mansion, Pierre stroke a lock of Chocolat's hair away from her eyes. This action caused her to open her eyes just to find his face just inches from her. She blushed so much from the close proximity and turned her head away, hoping that he didn't realised it. Luckily for her, he wasn't paying attention to her blush.

Instead, he asked her, "You were awake when they were here." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Chocolat sat on her bed, hugging her knees close to her, hiding her face. "Sorry. I will see them when I am ready."

"As you wish, but remember to forget your emotions you felt in the past as it no longer exists in you."

Pierre was about to leave her in her new room, but was stopped by a tug on his sleeve.

"W-Wait!" He looked behind and found her blushing, eyes looking down. "P-Please stay."

She shut both her eyes tightly, preparing to get a negative response from him as he released her hold on him, but surprised when he clutched both her hands in his.

"I will stay. So sleep," Her body obeyed his smooth voice and she fell into a deep slumber, not realising that he adjusted his position so that he was embracing her to sleep instead.

That's how she woke up the next day, blushing furiously, within his grasp.

* * *

 **My very first ever fanfiction posted. Forgive me for any grammar errors. Review and comments are greatly appreciated. I don't own Sugar Sugar Rune.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait. Here's your new awaited chapter.**

* * *

Bright light filled the room, and Chocolat needed to blink repeatedly to adjust to the sudden brightness. Noticing the warmth beside her, she leant towards it, seeking comfort. That was until a groan broke the silence of the room.

Just then did she realised that not only had she spent the night with him, but she was also hugging a certain person from behind. Her face turned into a deep crimson red, and also immediately, she released him. Pierre continued to sleep by her side with events from the previous night came rushing into her mind.

"By becoming a queen, you will be able to unite both sides by preventing war as becoming a queen gives you the authority to control the witches and wizards from both sides. Becoming queen means preventing war. Preventing the death of your friends and family members that you cherish so much."

After hearing the words poured out of Pierre's mouth, the first thing that came to her were her friends. Repeated assaults were made to her friends, and all she can do each time was to observe with no actions taken.

But… Pierre's words stung her like a knife. No longer becoming a spectator from the sidelines, she will be able to protect her friends from these dangers. Her mother and Queen Candy may not agree with her decision, but for the greater good, she will protect everyone by being queen.

 _If becoming queen means protecting the ones I love, I would gladly take up the offer. Even if it ended up everybody hating me. I will do whatever I can to stop this war from happening!_

She snapped out of her thought the moment she saw Pierre's face inches away from her. Too close of a proximity, she nearly fell off her bed before he barely caught her hand, preventing her fall.

"Pierre…Thank you."

"No problem, my beautiful queen," his voice echoed in her.

"And good morning." She replied him with a small smile of hers.

Pierre turned away from her, "I will leave you to get ready for school. Meet me in half an hour for breakfast downstairs."

"Wait!" Her hand caught his sleeve. "I don't feel well." She wasn't making that up. After getting a noir, her heart felt like it's getting ripped off her body. Adding to that, she felt uneasy and anxious on meeting her friends in school.

Her sight met hers in an instance before looking away. "Alright. I will inform the school of your absence." That made her sighed in relief. "Having a noir may be hard at first, but eventually, it will stay asleep forever."

* * *

With that, he left, leaving her alone in her room. Chocolat didn't know how long time has passed but she noticed her eyes were red and puffy when she woke up and the sky turned dark. Hesitantly wiping off her teary face with her sleeves, she hugged both her knees to her chest.

Chocolat was planning to skip her meals due to her lost appetite, but her mind flew to Vanilla's aromatic cooking, as well as the twin's homemade food. She couldn't help but kept thinking about them. Not a day has passed and she missed them already. Then again, it was her fault for choosing to accept the noir, that continuously thump painfully inside her, and not her friends.

She thought of her resolve into making that decision. She even left Duke with Vanilla. Moments after Vanilla's and Queen Candy's words came up, her mind instantaneously made up a plan on that spot. To prevent war between the two sides, it will be useful to be the queen of both Le Royaume and Orge.

However, there was still a possibility of Pierre lying to her about the following matter.

That's how Chocolat ended up where she is now. If Pierre really lied to her, then it's not too late to relay information about the Orge to Vanilla and the others. She will be the one behind the scenes. But without lying to her friends, she couldn't possibly lie to Pierre. Though she had set her mind on it, she wasn't ready to meet her friends just yet.

She felt a lump beside her leg, when she remembered that she took her mother's diary along with her, just in case even though the key wasn't in her possession. She was about to take it out before she heard her door squeaked open.

Thinking that it was Pierre, she fell back to bed, pretending to sleep. She was midway in doing so, when a young girl, dressed all in black, and a black cat entered, carrying a tray of food.

"I-I'm sorry, Chocolat-sama. D-Did I interrupt your s-sleep?" the girl spoke, timidly.

Chocolat managed to force herself to crack a smile. "No. Not at all. I just woke up."

She left the tray on the bedside table. "H-Here's your dinner, Chocolat-sama. P-Pierre-sama wanted me to inform you that h-he wouldn't be home these few days."

Chocolat let go a sharp breath when the Noir ached.

"C-Chocolat-sama! Are you alright? Would you like me to get you anything?" The girl asked.

She clutches her chest in pain, taking slow breaths at a time, until her breathing even out. "I am feeling better now." Recovering from her position, she let out a breath of relief before her stomach grumbled again.

This time, her face turned red out of embarrassment while the girl beside her laughed. "Here, Chocolat-sama, your dinner." Passing it to her, she added, "Also, I forgot to introduce myself. I am referred to as Berry. And her name is Cerunnos." She gestures to the cat standing beside her.

When her name was called, Cerunnos jumped onto Chocolat and meowed at her. Berry giggled before saying, "She seems to like you. She doesn't do that to everyone."

Chocolat stroke her fur, barely remembering the cat when she cast the spell into a cat and when the cat guided her way to Pierre. For a moment, she thought that her pain from the noir lessened but she shook it off as an imagination.

She took a bite of her dinner. "This is good."

Berry lightened up almost immediately, "Really? I made it myself truthfully. And I hope that you like it. Glad to hear that you do."

Chocolat smiled back at her, small smile but nonetheless.

Pierre was absent for the rest of the days, and Chocolat got used to the idea of his absence within the mansion. Berry and Cerunnos became her companions within the mansion.

* * *

Over the week, during their conversations, she found out that Berry was an orphan who was taken in by Pierre after she wandered around aimlessly for a while. Cerunnos, as expected, was Pierre's familiar. Unfortunately, due to some reasons, she couldn't speak like any other familiars do.

They occasionally brought her meals and had conversations over them. Otherwise, they hardly met up with each other at all, as Chocolat stayed in her room the whole time. Though Chocolat finally decided to sneak out of her room this very morning.

She scanned both of her dark surroundings before stepping out into the shadow. Her toes were hardly making a sound as she searched for the exit. She made her way down the pair of staircases and was prepared to exit the building if a familiar voice didn't rang out.

Curious, she peeked through a room located at the far end corner. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Berry on the floor and a woman holding a whip towering her. Several whipping wounds can be seen on her back. Cerunnos stand between the two, hissing at the woman, though she prepared to strike again.

Before the woman hit Berry, Chocolat moved in and grab onto Berry.

She was prepared to receive the hit when a flash of light brightened up the whole room. Berry and the woman spontaneously fled the area, leaving Chocolat uninjured.

The light dimmed down, and footsteps began to approach Chocolat and Cerunnos. From the shadows, Pierre appeared along with Juliet, wearing the suit of his, back from his absence.

Pierre approached Chocolat, a frown plastering that handsome face of his.

 _Wait_

Did she just thought of that? Her blush rising up her cheeks as he stopped in front of her.

For a moment, Chocolat was considering the probability of her being grounded or something. Still thinking through other likelihoods of her punishment, her thoughts were halted when he placed his hand on her head, Juliet nowhere to be found.

"Don't." He pulled her into an embrace. "Don't ever do that again." Her hands reached out to return the hug.

It felt almost forever when he finally let go.

"Now that I am back. Back to business," Chocolat looked at him confused, when a sudden pain shot up, rising from her chest.

She clutched to her chest tightly, before the pain worsened this time and she fell blank into Pierre's arms.

* * *

Her eyes quietly fluttered open, taking note of her surroundings. She is once again in her quarters, Pierre standing beside the windowpane, glancing at the world outside. He turned his head to face her, eyes as cold as ice, unlike before where it looked so hurt and sad. Chocolat shrugged it off as her imagination.

"Now that you are awake, let's continue from where we were talking about before," Pierre pulled a chair to sit beside her bed, "It's about your noir."

"As you may have realised, your noir is unstable. I went back to the Magic World solely because of this matter." He looked at her comparatively for a few seconds before continuing, "I believe that to help you overcome this issue, you will have to start to collect noir. The first step in doing that is to return to school."

Chocolat stiffened right away.

Pierre noticed her change in behaviour. "If you are still not feeling like it, I guess that it may be possible to delay-"

"No." He was cut off by Chocolat, before making contact with Chocolat's fiery emerald green eyes.

"I believe that it's now time for me to make my entrance as the reborn Chocolat."

* * *

 **So how was it?**

 **Before anything else, I truly apologise for the long wait. RL has really gotten up to me and datelines are chasing me like mad. But either ways, I managed to find time for me to upload the next chapter.**

 **To reviewers:**

 **Anon: Glad that you like it! Especially since its my very first one!**

 **Guest: Here's your chapter! And I am trying to put in as many lovey-dovey materials as possible. Since I too ship them both.**

 **Rahma** **dela: Hai** **! Saya tidak benar-benar tahu Melayu jadi saya perlu gunakan google translate. Maafkan tentang itu. Ia adalah dari Jepun dan penulisnya adalah Moyoco Anno.**

 **Sparkle9510: Thanks so much for liking it. Here's the second chapter and I hope you like it too!**

 **That's it for now. I will try and update asap.** **Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated. Thank you for those who followed and favourite this story.**

 **Happy New Year~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here goes Chapter 3~**

* * *

Taking a step out of the car, she shut her eyes before inhaling a deep breath of air. When she opened them, they no longer represent the Chocolat that was cheery and loud, instead what met those eyes were dark and calculating. Those who met her gaze looked away right the instance.

Chocolat can see from the corner of her eyes that Pierre was enjoying the subtle way she took into preparing for her return. He took his time in getting out of the car, taking note of the stares and whispers they receive at Chocolat's appearance. The Members greeted him almost immediately, though it was obvious that they were waiting for the arrival of the Prince.

Loud noises broke the peace in the fine morning as Vanilla, the twins and even Robin were walking alongside each other, Saule yelling about something while Houx tried to calm him down. Upon noticing Pierre and Chocolat, their noise ceased.

For a while, no one from each side spoke of anything, the chattering from the school compound remains, growing loudly in each moment, until Chocolat broke her eye contact with them and proceeded to enter the school. Pierre spared them no further glance, as he too –with the Members- followed behind Pierre and Chocolat closely.

Vanilla peered at Chocolat, until her shadow disappeared. She hadn't noticed herself looking at Chocolat the whole time until Robin shook her shoulder. She jumped in fright, just to realised that it was Robin.

Taking note of her small smile she gave him and the others, he began walking back, waving his hand aimlessly. "See you guys later."

Vanilla nodded, before turning to the twins. "Let's get going, Houx, Saule!"

* * *

The day went by quicker than she realised. Vanilla had entered and saw several boys and even girls surrounding Chocolat, bombarding her with questions about her absence. When Chocolat saw Vanilla, she dropped her smile. "Nothing to worry about. I feel _so_ much better than before."

With that, all conversations were halted, and everyone returned to their seats just in time for the lesson to start.

Over the breaks, Vanilla had tried to talk to Chocolat the first chance she gets. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen as easy as she thought it would be. For example, Chocolat were surrounded by students each time the bell rings, faster than Vanilla can even utter a word. During lunch breaks, Pierre and his Members were already outside of the classroom waiting for Chocolat. Even worse, the teacher asks Chocolat for help in carrying some books after every class of hers, which Chocolat agreed immediately.

Resolving to talk to Chocolat, Vanilla decides to confront Chocolat the second the final bell rings. She didn't care if the teacher needed help or other friends are around her. She _needs_ to talk to Chocolat, no matter what, and that's final. She hadn't got an explanation for her actions before. Even though Pierre had did that part, she still wanted to get the answer from Chocolat directly.

In her heart, she still believed in Chocolat. No matter what the others said, Chocolat is her first friend, a friend who could care less on status and wealth. A friend who is her best friend, the one she knew best since childhood, sometimes even better than Houx or Saule. A friend who had sneaked her out when she was supposed to be having her afternoon sleep. A friend who had introduced her to more friends so that she wouldn't be lonely. A friend who always cheers her up with her loud and cheerful personality.

A friend Vanilla _trusted_.

That's why, for whatever reason, she wouldn't believe Pierre's words until then. The moment that Chocolat would admits the truth herself. Even if she really did that, there must be a reason behind it. Vanilla knew her better than Chocolat herself sometimes. Chocolat wasn't someone who would do something that serious without a solid reason.

Until then...Vanilla won't stop believing in her.

* * *

Chocolat knew about Vanilla. She had noticed her attempts to talk to her. Chocolat still wasn't ready to answer her questions. So she was really fortunate that there were always someone who indirectly lured her away from Vanilla.

When the last bell rang, Chocolat packed up her things in an instant, before heading towards the entrance. She promised to meet up with Pierre at the school entrance, so both of them can head back together.

She wasn't surprised when Vanilla came out of a sudden and blocked her exit.

"Stop, Chocolat-chan! " she shouted, extending both her arms out to act as a barrier against the door.

Her shout attracted the attention of her classmates, even the teacher's. Chocolat was internally blaming herself for not leaving sooner. Now that it had come into this, there wasn't any point in avoiding it any further. She brushed past Vanilla with ease, ignoring her cries, and headed to the back courtyard where it was empty due to after-school hours.

Chocolat crossed both her shoulders, waiting for Vanilla to even utter a single syllable. Vanilla quivered under Chocolat's glare, unable to produce a sound. Thinking that as an excuse to leave the scene, she began to walk away.

"W-Wait!" Chocolat turned and met her eyes. "Chocolat-chan, the ogre -you didn't- I mean-did you really betray us all? Can I still trust you after what has happened?"

All the attention was on Vanilla, her eyes widening at her question. "Vanilla..."

Vanilla clenched both of her hands by her sides, eyes looking down, for she was afraid that she will start to cry if she continued to face her directly. "Robin told me to give it up. Houx and Saule were saddened by your departure, and hardly laugh anymore. So if... just if, you are still the Chocolat I know about, please come back!" By the end of her sentence, her tears were threatening to fall at the corner of her eyes.

Chocolat wanted to comfort her friend. Vanilla didn't look good with tears on afterall. Her hand almost reached out to comfort her when she stopped herself. What was she doing? Showing hesitation to small issues such as Vanilla's crying won't help her with her current situation.

Instead, her eyes narrowed at the sight of the crying girl in front of her. "Vanilla," With this, Vanilla looked up to meet Chocolat's gaze. "From now on, we are no longer friends," Her eyes widen in disbelief, "but enemies who are fighting to be queen. So don't expect me to be the same as I was before."

"N-No way..." Vanilla's voice trembled as she wiped off her tears with the sleeves of her shirt.

They didn't noticed a pair of footsteps approaching them, until they stopped a metre away from them. "Chocolat, you were late. I was waiting for you."

Recognising the voice, she answered to Pierre without facing him. "I'm sorry. I was held back by some minor issues. We can go now." And she began to walk away from the scene.

"Chocolat-chan!" She stopped without looking back, causing Pierre to do the same. "I won't let you become the queen. I will win over you, and become queen!"

Her lips twitched up in the sound of a challenge. She walked away without a word, with Pierre in tow.

* * *

On her way back, Chocolat couldn't help but thought of Vanilla. After saying those words to her, she didn't expect Vanilla to remain as she were before. She smiled internally on how Vanilla had mustered her courage in confronting her, even declaring that she will be queen. She had certainly grown from the crybaby.

Now that it had come down to this, Chocolat resolved to not let her emotions get the better out of her. It was fortunate that she managed to stop herself in time, as Pierre may have been in the area observing her, how else was he able to track her down so quickly.

Taking a glance at Pierre, she noted that he wasn't affected at Vanilla's outburst at all. His eyes met hers for a second before she quickly turned hers away. She noticed the atmosphere of the neighbourhood, many couples can be seen together and there was a crowd surrounding the chocolate shop.

Some of her friends were part of the crowd. They waved at her when they saw her, gesturing for her to come closer. She went after them, after telling Pierre to go ahead. "Chocolat, you are here for the chocolates too? Who do you plan on giving them to?"

One girl quietly added, snickering, "Pretty sure that it's Pierre, they are seen quite close recently."

A confused expression crossed her face. "Chocolates? Why would I give it away?"

One of the girls let out a surprised squeak. "What are you saying? It's a once a year chance at love."

"Chance at love?"

A look of disbelief flashed through their faces. "Don't tell me you don't know about Valentine's day?"

"Valentine's?"

They nod her head. "A day where girls can give their hearts to the boy they like in the form of chocolates."

Chocolat tilted her head by her side. "But I don't have anyone to give it to."

"No way!"

She didn't understand the ruckus the girls were making. What was the deal if she didn't have anyone she had in mind to give chocolates to? Certainly, Pierre was a potential candidate for that, but she didn't want him to misunderstand her intentions. A witch only gives her heart to someone they would trust with, for eternity. She wasn't entirely convinced that Pierre was someone she could trust wholeheartedly.

However, she supposed that she didn't have another choice in her current situation.

* * *

Valentine's day came soon after. Girls can be seen carrying bags of chocolates for their loved ones. Some boys were confessed to, which they replied in an affirmative way, forming many couples around the school, whereas a certain group of boys were having a competition on getting chocolates, losers suffering the consequences.

Chocolat walked past the school gates, releasing a sigh right after, her hand carrying a bag of chocolates. Confused of her own behaviour, she had ran out late the night before and only managed to get a bag of leftover chocolates. Along the way, she had somehow cast the spell for sealing her heart. The lack of feelings in her should avoid the quivering and hesitation caused by her heart, so she would be able focus better on her primary objective.

Boys who saw her approached her, but she refused to give it to them. After all, she thought to herself, a witch cannot give out their heart to a human. Even so, she brought her chocolate with her. She hadn't seen Pierre the morning she left so she assumed that he was busy handling some matters of his own.

The girls crowded around her, grumbling about how the boys were asking around for chocolates, without any shame at all. Midway, Houx and Saule had crashed into their classroom. The commotion arose when the boys started arguing with the two middle schoolers and the girls wanting to give chocolates to the two. To add fuel onto fire, Waffle spotted Houx and joined in the chaos.

Sighing quietly, she was planning to watch by the sidelines, when she noticed her chocolate fell into the midst of it. She reached out to grab the chocolate, but somehow got pulled into the commotion.

That was when everything went downhill. A person slipped, pulling the person beside them, which causes a domino effect. Everyone fell. When trying to get up and find her chocolate, Chocolat heard crumbling sound of something being stepped on. The crowd made way for her, and she was greeted with the sight of a distorted box of chocolate.

Trembling in anger, she yelled, "If you want chocolate that badly, I'll give it to you." She then cast the spell for the chocolate to turn into chocolate stars instead, and chocolates were seen showering down the place.

Chocolat was surprised to see five pink hearts glowing brightly, but collected it nonetheless. She wasn't sure the reason behind her behaviour. Afterall, she wasn't planning to do anything with the chocolates. Resting her head on her arm by the window, her mouth twitched upwards when her hand dangled a bag of star chocolates, tied with a pink ribbon.

* * *

Pierre got home late, after discussing matters with the Ice Prince. He let out a sigh, thinking to break the news about collecting Noir to Chocolat at a later date, when he noticed a bag of chocolates on his desk.

' _Happy Valentine's Day-Chocolat!'_ signed on the card on the top of it.

He smirked at the realisation of the date, before popping a star chocolate into his mouth. The chocolate melted instantly, a sense of warmth washing over Pierre, though he shrugged it off immediately.

* * *

Chocolat was in her room, sprawled all over her bed. She just delivered the chocolates to Pierre, she was nearly caught by surprise by Pierre's return and fled from the spot immediately. Her attention was drawn by the entrance of Cerunnos.

The cat jumped onto the bed, making herself comfortable. Chocolat reached out a hand to pet the cat, the latter meowing in pleasure.

She took out a diary from under the bed. Holding the diary upwards, her eyes narrowed.

"Mama, what should I do now? Can you tell me?"

* * *

 **Tell me how it went. Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated.**

 **So in this chapter, I tried to elaborate more on Vanilla's feelings towards Chocolat. And when I came across the Valentine's Day episode, I thought 'Why not put this in?', and I did. Partly because I quite like this episode, and how it helps with the relationship of Pierre and Chocolat in this story.**

 **To reviewers:**

 **Sparkle9510: Thanks a lot! Your reviews always make me happy ;)**

 **peopletime12 and Darkwarrior0416: Here it is~ Hope you like it!**

 **Thank you too to those who followed and favourited Conflict.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hey there~

Sorry for the long delay. Gonna warn readers first that my updates are very irregular, but I tend to write with any free moments I have.

So here's your Chapter 4, enjoy~

* * *

The next morning, Chocolat dressed prepared for school. She pinned her signature love heart pin on her hair, taking one last look at her appearance before she headed to the dining room. Berry followed behind her closely along with Cerunnos, cautious to take a step's distance away from Chocolat.

After the previous incident, she felt guilty in putting Chocolat in trouble. That wasn't all – even Pierre-sama had to step out to liquidate the one-sided fight between the two Ogres. Albeit grateful for his interference, she couldn't cover what has happened. Most of the Ogres weren't delighted to hear the announcement of her new title as the Ogre princess.

In spite of this, as one of the lowest ranking Ogres, she was liking her time spent with Chocolat. The brunet helped her better in understanding the outside world. She never dared to step a foot out of the mansion as ordered by her superiors, so part of her curiosity was quenched by answers given by Chocolat.

She supposed that the meek and weak girl had formed a bond with Chocolat, the first friend she made, apart from Cerunnos the cat. She silently vowed to prevent herself from getting into situations like that again, when her thoughts snapped out of focus when it was met with the dining room's door.

Berry knocked on the door a couple of times and pushed lightly on the door, allowing Chocolat to enter before she did and shut the door behind them. Pierre and Juliet were already there. Pierre dressed in his uniform, sat at the head of the table, drinking a goblet wine. He glanced at their entrance before his attention return to his drink. Juliet stood, standing stiffly by his side, ready to take orders from his master anytime.

Chocolat remembered the events that happened the previous day. Not that she forgot as it had bugged her the entire night. She remembered sealing her feelings into the chocolate, and she hoped for the spell to last. Getting into the usual habit of tossing in her bed when she was unable to sleep, it rendered her useless when she woke up groggier than before. Remembering her magic spells, Chocolat quickly cast a spell to make the blackeyes and pale complexion disappeared, altering her appearance to look like her usual self.

She snapped back into reality when she felt Berry gently nudging her forward. She took a deep breath before joining Pierre at the other side of the table. They started their breakfast in silence until Pierre's voice pierced through it.

"Did you have a good rest?"

Startled, she calmed down her heart before proceeding to smile at Pierre. Emerald green met with deep sea blue eyes. "I did, thank you for asking."

Pierre placed his unfinished goblet on the table, not breaking eye contact. "I remember mentioning about collecting Noir at a nearer date and I believe that we can put that into action today. Juliet here," the said Ogre bowed at the mention of his name, "has a preposition."

Juliet adjusted his glasses before snapping his fingers, making an image of what appeared to be a spice shaker to appear in the air. Covered all in purple with a yellow tip sprinkler, it was hard to determine the content within the bottle. "This is called the 'Void Spice'. It enhances food flavouring and also reduces calories down to zero."

He smirked, his eyes glinted and he pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "In actuality, by adding this into food, it causes them to lack a sense of satiety, they will eat and eat without ever be satisfied, producing hatred within their heart, and that's the time when our princess," he eyed Chocolat with a knowing look, "collects the Noir hearts."

Chocolat looked at him with mixed feelings, collecting the Noir would normally hurt a typical ordinary witch, but after implanting her with a Noir, she hadn't tried to do so knowing the uncertainties. Doing so would mean gambling with her Noir heart but it would also mean a source of life sources for Ogres such as Berry. Hesitating slightly, she made a quick decision to take the risk. What's a person's life compared to hundreds?

She nodded in approval. Pierre noted this and proclaimed. "Then let's put this into plan today."

At lunch, Juliet proceeded with the plan. He disguised himself as a salesperson who was merely promoting a spice. Everyone was delighted in discovering the new food enhancer and entered the trap easily, all except Vanilla, Houx and Saule, who looked at the mysterious spice in worry.

With jet black hair and black eyes, Juliet chose an appearance that literally screamed 'danger'. It was an irony as to how he selected that appearance for the purpose of blending in with the humans.

When the bell rang to signify the start of the new class, Chocolat stood near the school entrance, waiting for a horde of students to appear. Not long after, they appeared bearing hearts of Noir. Chocolat could feel her heart thumping hard within her chest, her right hand reached out to even out her breathing before she readied herself to cast the spell.

A black orb enveloped her as her outfit changed into a black dress that spanned out into her two sides, leaving her legs bare with a simple, pointed black heels. Black gloves covered the entire length of her hand until it barely touched the elbow. A crown decorated by simple white diamond pattern fitted perfectly on her head whereas her long red hair was fully braided before twisting itself onto her right shoulder. Her wand remains the same as she cast the spell.

"Sugar Sugar Rune, Choco Rune!"

The Noirs grew brightly in colour before detaching themselves from the bodies of the humans. They flew together in large sums before heading to Chocolat's direction. The Noirs lightly touched her pendant before it opened to allow entrance, integrating into the small space. The pendant snapped shut the moment the last Noir entered and a sudden, crashing pain weighed down against Chocolat.

Chocolat collapsed and writhed in pain on the ground, her hand clenched into a fist which rested on her heart. It felt as though gravity was against her very own being, her energy was rapidly depleting. Her eyes were shut closed and tears threatened to escape from the sealed lids. She heard voices around her and she could feel someone was shaking her shoulders back and forth.

Blinking a few times, she wiped off the corner of her eyes with her long sleeves to remove the tears staining her cheeks. Her view was met with a worried pair of diamond blue eyes. When she noticed it, the worry faded away into a poker face, and she wondered afterwards whether it was a figment of her imagination.

Chocolat glanced around and found Pierre kneeling with one knee on the ground beside her. They were floating in an orb, similar to the one Pierre casted on her in their disastrous aquarium date. Hollow and dark, it looked like a confinement from the outside world.

Outside knocking on the orb, she recognised the worried faces of her friends. All of them were desperately casting magic spells to break the orb but failed. Their worried look turned into relief when she woke up.

Glancing up to Pierre, she said, "What-"

He shushed her immediately. "Talk later. Rest now."

With a small nod, she went into an oblivion slumber.

* * *

A loud crash woke her up.

Pierre was by her side when she stirred. The crash didn't divert his attention away from her as his diamond blue eyes remain fixated on hers. Any hints of concern and unease faded away into a poker face.

Chocolat would have thought of the loud disturbance as a figment of her imagination if it weren't because of the worried looks passed around by the Ogres that were present in her room.

"W-What happened?" Chocolat managed to choke out, coughing after the syllabus were spoken.

Pierre reached out to pat gently on her back, offering her a cup of water which she devoured thirstily. "Don't worry, your room is protected with a charm that protects this room from harm."

"But why?"

"Chocolat!" Pierre hissed at her, shocking her with his change of tone.

She bolted upright, demanding answers. "Tell me." Her hand reached up to shake him gently, before her consciousness returned completely and her anxiousness returned in full bloom. "Pierre, tell me."

This time, Pierre looked away.

Chocolat used her hand to gently touched his cheek, surprising Pierre as he tilted his head to meet hers. "Tell me." She said, with unrelenting eyes.

"Everyone leaves."

The Ogres hesitated for a moment before teleporting to somewhere else. Berry sent another worried glance before doing the same. Standing to his full height, he tucked both his hands into his pockets.

Letting out a tired sigh, Pierre spoke, "Your mentors are searching for you."

"Mentors?" she questioned, before she realised. "You mean Robin?"

He nodded. "And Captain Glacier of Le Royaume." He swiped his hand onto the dressing mirror and an image appeared. Both of them were rapidly flying and attacking creatures made up of stones.

Examining it further, she recognised the background of the scene and she gasped in surprise. "They are here now?!"

Pierre turned to face her. "Yes, hence the noise. You were still unwell from collecting Noir so I suggest that you rest while I deal with them."

Walking to the exit, he gave her one last look before leaving. "I will make it quick." And the door slammed behind him.

Chocolat's eyes widened to the size of a saucer before she leapt out of bed, heading for the door. But the door wouldn't bulge an inch and she realised that she was locked in there until the two mages are dead.

Her thoughts started to scramble before she heard a small mew under her bed covers. She flung them open to reveal the yawning heterochromia violet cat. Cerunnos stopped yawning the moment the covers were flung, she looked up at the young witch curiously before she jumped down to stand beside her.

Looking at Cerunnos, she remembered her first visit to the mansion. The feline had repelled any danger headed to her direction and led her to Pierre.

All by herself.

She grinned knowingly at the cat. "Cerunnos, do me a favour?"

The cat purred at her.

* * *

"Grand Lumierre!"

"Charrue Bris!"

At another location, Robin and Glacier had been trying to escape the stone animals that seemed to be endless without an escape route. They flew around aimlessly until they recognised a familiar scent.

 _This way. Escape through here._ A voice shouted out.

The end of the corridor flashed brightly, and the double windows opened to the key to their exit.

They flew out of the window, the animals that followed closely behind them perished into flames and the window snapped shut.

 _That fragrance_ , they thought before they shook off the thought as their imagination and flew away, ready to report to the Magical World about the situation.

Behind the shut windows, Cerunnos looked at their departure with a desolate look.

Meanwhile, at another corridor, Pierre eyed the two mages' departure through the window, his face hardened with a knowing look.

* * *

So...what d'ya think?

Comment and review below.

Thank you to all those who follow, favourite and review. Your gestures are very much appreciated :)


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